Mohammed Bucheerei, the chief executive of Bahrain-based Islamic retail bank Ithmaar, was named the 2012 World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC) Islamic Banker of the Year at a gala dinner at the Gulf Hotel in Manama.

The WIBC Islamic Banker of the Year award uses a unique peer-based voting system to select the winner from a shortlist of nominees with the results audited by Ernst & Young, the official award auditors, said a report in the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

The award is presented to an individual who is an established banker, leading a reputable financial services provider, who, during the year 2012, has contributed significantly to the Islamic financial services industry.

The key criteria set by the awards committee for the award included excellence in leadership, overall strategic direction of their Islamic banking business, new strategic initiatives and innovations and overall contribution to the global Islamic banking and finance industry.

"I am very honoured to have been voted WIBC Islamic Banker of the Year 2012," said a delighted Bucheerei.

"This is an award for the entire Ithmaar family and recognises our combined efforts in making Ithmaar a trusted leading Islamic financial institution offering a comprehensive range of financial solutions and contributing to social development," he stated.

"Ithmaar Bank continues to play a pivotal role in the development of Islamic banking not only in Bahrain but internationally through its subsidiaries," remarked the bank chief.

"A great part of this credit goes to our dedicated team and the value of their contribution is incalculable," he noted.

Based on select criteria assessed by the WIBC Awards Committee, the WIBC Institutional Excellence Award 2012, was presented to the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank Group, Saudi Arabia.

Through its strategic initiatives, the ICD has been successfully supporting the economic development of its member countries by providing finance to private sector projects in accordance with Sharia principles.

"This award is a major achievement for ICD as it comes at a time when a combination of factors - social unrest in some member countries, increased cost of funding and lingering effects of the global financial crisis - added further challenges for ICD to execute its strategy as planned," ICD chief executive Khaled Mohammed Al Aboodi said.

"ICD firmly believes that Islamic finance has significant real economy value-adding potential and can provide a substantial contribution to financial inclusion and economic development in its member countries.

"In line with our new strategy, we have made it a priority to broaden the availability and affordability of Islamic finance and deepen capital markets by expanding access to Islamic finance in member countries," he added.

The WIBC 2012 Industry Leadership Award was presented to Noor Abid, who recently retired from the position of managing partner of Assurance Services Mena at Ernst & Young for his contribution towards the overall development of the global Islamic banking and finance industry through his various initiatives with AAOIFI and internally with Ernst & Young.

The award recognizes outstanding contributions made by an individual towards the overall development of the global Islamic finance industry and significantly contributing towards shaping the future of the Islamic finance industry was awarded

Noor Abid was instrumental in the establishment of the E&Y’s Islamic Banking Centre for Excellence 14 years ago and since then, the centre has worked on more than 300 unique projects including regulatory frameworks, infrastructure institutions, new bank set ups, and bank conversions.

He also played a key role in the landmark agreement signed between AAOIFI and E&Y to promote Sharia compliance, standardisation and industry development in Islamic finance.-TradeArabia News Service